Post-Election: Update That Marketing Plan

Political, legal, and regulatory forces are major influences in the marketing environment. Just ask U.K. marketers, who have been rethinking their strategies after the Brexit vote, which is expected to result in a split with the European Union. For some brands, the updated plan is to emphasize their British roots. For others, the updated plan is to carefully research and respond to customers' demand for more control. For all brands, Brexit's uncertainty will mean continually tweaking their marketing until the timetable for E.U. exit (if it happens) is more definite.

Major U.S. marketers probably had a contingency plan for determining how to tweak their activities, regardless of who won the U.S. election. Given how wrong most polls were about the presidency, the top priority for every marketer targeting U.S. consumers is to dig deeper and really understand what customers want, especially their unstated needs and desires. This goes for U.S.-based and internationally-based marketers alike.

Just as important, the election outcome will surely have an effect on U.S. laws and regulations, as well as on the Supreme Court (not to mention individual states and municipalities). Therefore, it's time to develop detailed scenarios for operating under this new normal.

What about products? The White House Gift Shop will undoubtedly be stocking new presidential mugs within weeks. Does your product mix need updating now that the election results are in?

U.S. Companies Feel Impact of Brexit

Five weeks ago, a U.K. referendum resulted in the forthcoming exit of the country from the European Union. The timetable isn't yet known, but the country is preparing plans for an orderly exit and the simultaneous negotiation of new trade pacts with European trading partners.

Across the pond, U.S. companies are feeling the impact of Brexit. First, the currency issue is changing profit and cost projections--because of the see-saw value of the pound sterling versus the U.S. dollar. When the value of the pound drops, the dollar is stronger, a concern for U.S. companies (like Carnival cruise lines) doing business in U.K. markets. Currency fluctuations change the cost of supplies purchased by U.S. firms from U.K. sources--uncertainty that affects not just the bottom line but the marketing plans for the remainder of 2016.

Multinational banks based in the U.S. are watching to see whether London will remain a financial center and gateway to Europe. All have contingency plans for dealing with the challenges if they decide to relocate for better access to European customers (commercial customers as well as consumers). Some mergers and acquisitions between U.K. firms and others outside the country are being postponed or taken off the table due to the uncertainties and the financial repercussions of Brexit. Airlines are reevaluating routes to and from (and within) U.K. destinations.

A lot of U.S. companies buy and sell in the U.K., and Brexit appears to be dampening the economic climate in Great Britain and beyond as firms try to determine a way forward during this transition period. Consumer confidence is down in the U.K. and the result is likely to be slower spending, which will hurt marketers that target consumers.

How will U.K. and international holiday spending be affected? What about "affordable luxuries" that tend to do well despite economic ups and downs? And global travel?

Big-Box Retailers Plan for Storms

Walmart was one of the business heroes of the Katrina disaster--providing supplies even when others had their stock depleted or weren't even able to open their doors (see photo below). Walmart has a meteorologist on staff and uses datamining to analyze store-by-store sales so it can plan for storms and other emergency situations.

Not surprisingly, Home Depot and Lowe's, as well as Walmart, were ready for Hurricane Irene, which slammed into the East Coast over the weekend.

"We take storm product, both pre- and post-strike product, we stage those in containers and we have them in our distribution centers, really ready for a driver to pull up and pick up and take them to our stores," a Home Depot official tells National Public Radio.

The big-box retailers coordinate with local emergency centers, check in with FEMA, get their store generators ready, and have emergency supplies on hand for employees.

Home Depot has a "preparing for the storm" page on its Web site. Lowe's has a page with videos and other pages with suggested supplies.

This is where the big-box retailers' contingency planning--preparing for the unexpected, whether hurricane or earthquake or tornado or hail storm--really makes a difference for customers.